New transgenic mouse models enabling pan-hematopoietic or selective hematopoietic stem cell depletion in vivo.

Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) multipotency and self-renewal are typically defined through serial transplantation experiments. Host conditioning is necessary for robust HSC engraftment, likely by reducing immune-mediated rejection and by clearing limited HSC niche space. Because irradiation of the recipient mouse is non-specific and broadly damaging, there is a need to develop alternative models to study HSC performance at steady-state and in the absence of radiation-induced stress.

MicroRNA-940 as a Potential Serum Biomarker for Prostate Cancer.

Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of death despite an astoundingly high survival rate for localized tumors. Though prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, performed in conjunction with digital rectal examinations, is reasonably accurate, there are major caveats requiring a thorough assessment of risks and benefits prior to conducting the test. MicroRNAs, a class of small non-coding RNAs, are stable molecules that can be detected in circulation by non-invasive methods and have gained importance in cancer prognosis and diagnosis in the recent years.

A quantitative hematopoietic stem cell reconstitution protocol: Accounting for recipient variability, tissue distribution and cell half-lives.

Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) transplantation is the paradigm for stem cell therapies. The protocol described here enables quantitative assessment of the body-wide HSPC reconstitution of different mature hematopoietic cells in mice based on their presence in circulating blood. The method determines donor-derived mature cell populations per mouse, over time, by quantitatively obtaining their absolute numbers in the peripheral blood and utilizing previously assessed tissue-distribution factors.

Ubiquitous overexpression of CXCL12 confers radiation protection and enhances mobilization of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells.

C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12; aka SDF1α) is a major regulator of a number of cellular systems, including hematopoiesis, where it influences hematopoietic cell trafficking, proliferation, and survival during homeostasis and upon stress and disease. A variety of constitutive, temporal, ubiquitous, and cell-specific loss-of-function models have documented the functional consequences on hematopoiesis upon deletion of Cxcl12. Here, in contrast to loss-of-function experiments, we implemented a gain-of-function approach by generating a doxycycline-inducible transgenic mouse model that enables spatial and temporal overexpression of Cxcl12.

Viagra Enables Efficient, Single-Day Hematopoietic Stem Cell Mobilization.

Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation is a curative treatment for a variety of blood and immune disorders. Currently available methods to obtain donor HSCs are suboptimal, and the limited supply of donor HSCs hampers the success and availability of HSC transplantation therapies. We recently showed that manipulation of vascular integrity can be employed to induce HSC mobilization from the bone marrow to the blood stream, facilitating non-invasive collection of HSCs.

Clonal and Quantitative In Vivo Assessment of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Differentiation Reveals Strong Erythroid Potential of Multipotent Cells.

Hematopoiesis is arguably one of the best understood stem cell systems; however, significant challenges remain to reach a consensus understanding of the lineage potential, heterogeneity, and relationships of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell populations. To gain new insights, we performed quantitative analyses of mature cell production from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and multiple hematopoietic progenitor populations. Assessment of the absolute numbers of mature cell types produced by each progenitor cell revealed a striking erythroid dominance of all myeloid-competent progenitors assessed, accompanied by strong platelet reconstitution.

MIEN1 is tightly regulated by SINE Alu methylation in its promoter.

Migration and invasion enhancer 1 (MIEN1) is a novel gene involved in prostate cancer progression by enhancing prostate cancer cell migration and invasion. DNA methylation, an important epigenetic regulation, is one of the most widely altered mechanisms in prostate cancer. This phenomenon frames the basis to study the DNA methylation patterns in the promoter region of MIEN1.

MIEN1, a novel interactor of Annexin A2, promotes tumor cell migration by enhancing AnxA2 cell surface expression.

Background: Migration and invasion enhancer 1 (MIEN1) is a novel gene found to be abundantly expressed in breast tumor tissues and functions as a critical regulator of tumor cell migration and invasion to promote systemic metastases. Previous studies have identified post-translational modifications by isoprenylation at the C-terminal tail of MIEN1 to favor its translocation to the inner leaflet of plasma membrane and its function as a membrane-bound adapter molecule. However, the exact molecular events at the membrane interface activating the MIEN1-driven tumor cell motility are vaguely understood.

MIEN1 promotes oral cancer progression and implicates poor overall survival.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma is a highly malignant tumor with the potential to invade local and distant sites and promote lymph node metastasis. Major players underlying the molecular mechanisms behind tumor progression are yet to be fully explored. Migration and invasion enhancer 1 (MIEN1), a novel protein overexpressed in various cancers, facilitates cell migration and invasion.

MicroRNA-940 suppresses prostate cancer migration and invasion by regulating MIEN1.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are crucial molecules that regulate gene expression and hence pathways that are key to prostate cancer progression. These non-coding RNAs are highly deregulated in prostate cancer thus facilitating progression of the disease. Among the many genes that have gained importance in this disease, Migration and invasion enhancer 1 (MIEN1), a novel gene located next to HER2/neu in the 17q12 amplicon of the human chromosome, has been shown to enhance prostate cancer cell migration and invasion, two key processes in cancer progression.

Intersection of Smoking, Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and Cancer: Proceedings of the 8(th) Annual Texas Conference on Health Disparities.

The Texas Center for Health Disparities, a National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Center of Excellence, presents an annual conference to discuss prevention, awareness education and ongoing research about health disparities both in Texas and among the national population. The 2013 Texas Conference on Health Disparities brought together experts, in research, patient care and community outreach, on the "Intersection of Smoking, Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and Cancer". Smoking, HIV/AIDS and cancer are three individual areas of public health concern, each with its own set of disparities and risk factors based on race, ethnicity, gender, geography and socio-economic status.